“Safe take-off with the green label.”

Coopservice services are getting greener and greener. In recent days, the Ecolabel Italia section of the Ecolabel-Ecoaudit Committee has issued the European eco-label, used to certify the reduced environmental impact of products or services, to the ‘Indoor cleaning services’ group of the Green Leaf by Coopservice product line.

Green Leaf is the brand that identifies services with reduced environmental impact designed and provided by Coopservice, in which the use of certified ecological products, low emission equipment and vehicles, recycled/recyclable materials and separate waste collection systems is guaranteed, as well as the use of working methods that reduce the use of chemical agents and limit waste and energy solutions from renewable sources.

“Sustainability is in our DNA. In the current scenario, companies that refer to cooperative principles must necessarily deal with environmental and social responsibility issues – says Michele Magagna, General Manager of Coopservice – For years we have been measuring the impact of our activities in relation to the UN’s Sustainable Development Objectives, committing ourselves to doing even better. This is a strategic choice that also contributes to improving our business – concludes Magagna – Attention to the environment and business efficiency are much more in agreement than we might think. These strategies should be encouraged with rewarding mechanisms in public tenders, still too anchored to the logic of maximum reduction”.

Coopservice’s green approach comes from afar. Over the years, several projects have been implemented to reduce the environmental impact.

In 2015, Coopservice, among the top 10 companies in Europe, obtained EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) certification for the category “Professional cleaning services for buildings”.

In 2018, Coopservice’s emissions due to energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions related to fuel consumption for its fleet of vehicles and operating vehicles decreased by 5%. Objectives achieved through investments in energy efficiency and fleet conversion.

Coopservice welcomed the Ministry of the Environment’s #IoSonoAMBIENTE (“I am Environment”) campaign to reduce the environmental footprint and is committed to finding solutions in line with the 3 R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

Since the second half of 2019, Coopservice has intensified direct separate waste collection in its offices and this has made it possible, in the Reggio Emilia headquarters alone, to deliver 58% less undifferentiated waste than in the previous half year.

With the Plastic Free project, at the beginning of 2020, the cooperative adopted a series of measures to eliminate plastic in 15 of its main branches throughout Italy.

Environmental policies were flanked by social initiatives, such as: the strengthening of the solidarity fund designed to provide economic support to members and their families who find themselves in difficult times; the activation of corporate welfare instruments, including insurance policies for all members and employees for protection in case of hospitalization for Covid-19; Diversity & Inclusion policies to promote equal opportunities.

The green approach is also part of “Safe Take-off”, the Coopservice programme to support companies in the complex phase 2 after lockdown. It is a package of services designed in an integrated logic to combine compliance with regulations defined by government and local institutions, cost reduction and quality of services.